Request help about Les Paul necks profile

[ricoblues]

Hi to everyone ...

 

I've a question about LesPaul necks profile. I want to buy a new Les Paul but now I live on a small island and I can buy only via web.

I own and love my Gibson Les Paaul Standard 2008 with the progressive neck profile and my Gibson Blues King.

But I prefer the Blues King neck more than the Standard 2008 neck, so which neck profile you suggest ?

I play blues and blues rock and I do a lot of bends 10-46 pure nickel on Les Paul, 11-52 on Blues King.

 

Any suggestion will be appreciate. Thanks, Rico

[JazzGtr]

Rico,

 

Trying to figure out Gibson's neck profiles without feeling, playing the actual guitar in person is not wise. I currently own a 92 Custom Les Paul (avatar) and had a 2003 Custom Black Beauty Les Paul. Both guitars were great. The 2003 LP neck was as thick as a baseball bat. My current 92 LP has the slim 1960's style neck profile which is very easy for me to play since I have small hands. But I do miss the 2003 LP thick neck for the hard Blues sound. I also own two semi-hollows (CS 346 and CS 356) which also have very different neck profiles. Love both of them as well but they do sound and feel very different. The CS 346 neck profile is thick like the 2003 LP whereas the CS 356 has the slim 1960's style neck profile like my 1992 LP.

 

If I was you, I would take a trip inland and try out all of the Les Paul first before ordering online. Consisdering the costs of a new Les Paul, it's worth the additional investment.

 

BTW, I also use Pure Nickel strings on my LP and CS 356. And I use Flatwound Chromes on my CS 346 and L5.

 

Jazz

[BR TOAD]

I have attached an article that will give you a basic rundown on all the Gibson LP neck profiles etc.. I prefer for Rhythm work and slide the 60's slimmer nect as I have smaller hands and like the reach with a Bottle neck as well as the ability to play a lead rhythm.. on the lead and studio side I like the thicker older LP neck and really like my 54 es 140 neck profile

http://www.musicians...ages/les-paulMy link

[spacealf]

Maybe in the Past the necks varied more, but there are tolerances they go by nowadays.

I would just say that if you buy a cheaper Gibson LP then the entire body of the guitar and the neck are smaller (with the '50s type neck I got on mine.)

On an expensive LP say like a Traditional, or Signature model then the neck and body thickness are full size and bigger for the neck (50's neck again for me in that model).

So the only two necks you really have are the 60's slim taper type neck and the '50's thicker neck. For me either one will work, but after some years, a 50's neck is to me better

for holding the tension of bigger string gauge like 11-52s or so.

 

So although the neck may vary a little, to me they are all about the same and the hand can get used to it, so I bought my on-line like at Sweetwater where you can see the guitar in big pictures (well not all that big but bigger than other places usually) and anything else was no problem.

 

Sure it always is going I guess to feel better to try out a guitar, but at Sweetwater, you know the guitar is not a demo or is marked that way, and if anything wrong it is cheaper price, and the guitar has not been handled except to have the 55 point check system they do and put into the case (if the guitar has a case included) and shipped out to you (and I get my stuff from them in a couple of days - and of course that is going to vary somewhat with shipping distance). And the shipping is free usually so the price of the guitar is the price. All you have to do is pay consumer tax for your State because no one that I know of is including that for your State which then you have to find out about and pay your State the consumer tax ( and in my State it is 1% lower than the local tax for buying anything).

 

?? and if something is wrong with the guitar they take them back and ship another, but at least at Sweetwater you know what you are getting, the serial number, and everything just by looking on-line.

 

Of course you can go to a local place also and other on-line stores and see how you want to buy or not buy, and that choice is up to you.

??

The choice is yours.

I did have an audio/interface that was bad, and they shipped it right back and sent me another there ( and China does make bad stuff sometimes). On Epiphone Guitars though, I did not have a problem either having it made in China. And that guitar was a semi-hollow body es-339 type guitar.

 

http://www.sweetwate...ectric-guitars/

 

There are other online stores also, like Musicians Friend and ZZounds.

 

http://www.zzounds.com/

 

http://www.musicians...CFQJqMgodrmIATw

 

Sam Ash and others I think like American Musical, perhaps Chicago Musical.

 

Anyway, a search on the Internet will probably show way more, and of course I suppose there is always Gibson to buy from also.

 

Oh, different stores like GC and others may have different models of guitar made for them perhaps or some other type limited editions that some other stores would not have either.

 

Let you do the looking on line I guess.

 

Perhaps the only thing is that they may not be able to ship out of the lower 48 States in the USA perhaps. Have to see where they can ship and then there may be extra charges if they even can. Something to do with claiming where the wood came from and all of that or something according to the Lacey Act, or something about something.

[Rabs]

 

[ricoblues]

Thank to all for your courtesy and advice.

 

A lot of information and at the end the advice of "JazzGtr" seems to be the one to follow: take a trip inland and try.

Ok I'll have to save a little more to offer a holiday to my wife with a tour in a shopping centre, you know .

 

Fortunately, from the Canary Islands, where I live, to the Iberian Peninsula to go to Madrid or Granada there are great discounts on flights.

 

Thank you again. Rico.

[Aymara]

Buying online definitely is a risk, because from my last year experience Gibson quality control is not as good as it should be. I visited three shops here in Germany and only one could convince me to buy, because they don't accept deliveries, that are not worth selling and they have a luthier who does a pro setup to every guitar they sell.

So before you take a trip to Madrid or elsewhere, make sure, that the dealer is worth a visit and has in stock, what you are looking for.

If buying online is the only option, maybe try Thomann in Germany ... I bought my Epiphone from them online and had no problems. They ship all over Europe. You also could try Music Store in Cologne, where I bought my Gretsch, but I was there in Cologne myself.

But be warned ... both german shops will ship the guitar without a pro setup, so you would need to do that yourself, like I did with my Gretsch. But both shops have a good reputation.

 

Hey, how about a short holiday trip to Cologne? ;-) Your family might visit the Dome and the Roman Museum, while you spend the whole day at Music Store ... man, that shop is sooo large ... like a shopping mall only for musical instruments. They even have a restaurant. If you buy locally at their shop and have enough time, you can get a pro setup for the guitar you buy, while you have a meal at the restaurant. If you should have a chance for such a Cologne trip, I can asure you, you'll never forget it ... great city, great shop.

[capmaster]

Buying online definitely is a risk, because from my last year experience Gibson quality control is not as good as it should be. I visited three shops here in Germany and only one could convince me to buy, because they don't accept deliveries, that are not worth selling and they have a luthier who does a pro setup to every guitar they sell.

So before you take a trip to Madrid or elsewhere, make sure, that the dealer is worth a visit and has in stock, what you are looking for.

If buying online is the only option, maybe try Thomann in Germany ... I bought my Epiphone from them online and had no problems. They ship all over Europe. You also could try Music Store in Cologne, where I bought my Gretsch, but I was there in Cologne myself.

But be warned ... both german shops will ship the guitar without a pro setup, so you would need to do that yourself, like I did with my Gretsch. But both shops have a good reputation.

 

Hey, how about a short holiday trip to Cologne? ;-) Your family might visit the Dome and the Roman Museum, while you spend the whole day at Music Store ... man, that shop is sooo large ... like a shopping mall only for musical instruments. They even have a restaurant. If you buy locally at their shop and have enough time, you can get a pro setup for the guitar you buy, while you have a meal at the restaurant. If you should have a chance for such a Cologne trip, I can asure you, you'll never forget it ... great city, great shop.

 

Up to now I bought eight Gibsons, four basses and four guitars, three of them Les Pauls, online from five different dealers and kept them all. Four of the bunch were single items at these dealers with three rare ones among them, they all were demos and therefore set up nicely.

 

Music Store Professional, Cologne, and Thomann, Burgeberach were among these dealers. I never was in Cologne but about two dozen times in Burgebrach. Can confirm the setup thing on principal, but that's not a problem for me. In case anything beyond adjustment would have occurred, I would have returned the instrument or, as I did once, had a new nut mounted at Thomann to a rare Custom Shop guitar I had bought at Music Store before. Of course, I had to pay for that.

 

When talking about quality issues, there are some of them which clearly go around good and bad, but many more where taste is the critical point. To my experience, they match specified neck profiles rather closely, and all the late 50's necks I met were clearly fatter than the 60's ones. I also feel comfortably with all of them, including Explorer, SG early 60's, Epiphone 60's D shape and 60's asymmetrical profiles. The different Fender necks are fine, too, regardless of fretboard radiuses. However, I experienced that large and compound radiuses support sustain better, regardless if Gibson and Epiphone set necks or Fender and Ibanez bolt-on necks, and also regardless of woods and construction.

 

Perhaps I should add that as a singer and songwriter I am a tone chaser. So I tend to get acquainted with certain differences in playability for music's sake. When playing in an unleashed manner, dealing with middle pickups and Floyd Rose vibratos are the hardest tasks for me, but I manage to cope with these subtle challenges.

 

There also are things I really don't care about. So e. g. I don't like the look of pickguards on Les Paul guitars, but one of mine came with one. I left it there since I even don't become aware of it when playing - it's never ever in the way of my hand or pick. The other way round, I also don't get in touch with the finishes of Les Paul tops without pickguards...

[ricoblues]

Buying online definitely is a risk, because from my last year experience Gibson quality control is not as good as it should be. I visited three shops here in Germany and only one could convince me to buy, because they don't accept deliveries, that are not worth selling and they have a luthier who does a pro setup to every guitar they sell.

So before you take a trip to Madrid or elsewhere, make sure, that the dealer is worth a visit and has in stock, what you are looking for.

If buying online is the only option, maybe try Thomann in Germany ... I bought my Epiphone from them online and had no problems. They ship all over Europe. You also could try Music Store in Cologne, where I bought my Gretsch, but I was there in Cologne myself.

But be warned ... both german shops will ship the guitar without a pro setup, so you would need to do that yourself, like I did with my Gretsch. But both shops have a good reputation.

 

Hey, how about a short holiday trip to Cologne? ;-) Your family might visit the Dome and the Roman Museum, while you spend the whole day at Music Store ... man, that shop is sooo large ... like a shopping mall only for musical instruments. They even have a restaurant. If you buy locally at their shop and have enough time, you can get a pro setup for the guitar you buy, while you have a meal at the restaurant. If you should have a chance for such a Cologne trip, I can asure you, you'll never forget it ... great city, great shop.

 

Hi Aymara,

 

great advice to visit Cologne. I've think to "make a jump" in Germany because I'm a follower of Gregory Hilden and he got often wonderful Les Paul, but I must evaluate the flying costs for the family plus a guitar .

I know Thomann very well. I'm a long date customer when in Italy, mainly for strings, pics and other accessories. Is a very professional shop whit Spain section.

 

Thank you for your time. Rico

[ricoblues]

 

 

Thank you Rabs, for your time to posting images and info.

[ricoblues]

Maybe in the Past the necks varied more, but there are tolerances they go by nowadays.

I would just say that if you buy a cheaper Gibson LP then the entire body of the guitar and the neck are smaller (with the '50s type neck I got on mine.)

On an expensive LP say like a Traditional, or Signature model then the neck and body thickness are full size and bigger for the neck (50's neck again for me in that model).

So the only two necks you really have are the 60's slim taper type neck and the '50's thicker neck. For me either one will work, but after some years, a 50's neck is to me better

for holding the tension of bigger string gauge like 11-52s or so.

 

So although the neck may vary a little, to me they are all about the same and the hand can get used to it, so I bought my on-line like at Sweetwater where you can see the guitar in big pictures (well not all that big but bigger than other places usually) and anything else was no problem.

 

Sure it always is going I guess to feel better to try out a guitar, but at Sweetwater, you know the guitar is not a demo or is marked that way, and if anything wrong it is cheaper price, and the guitar has not been handled except to have the 55 point check system they do and put into the case (if the guitar has a case included) and shipped out to you (and I get my stuff from them in a couple of days - and of course that is going to vary somewhat with shipping distance). And the shipping is free usually so the price of the guitar is the price. All you have to do is pay consumer tax for your State because no one that I know of is including that for your State which then you have to find out about and pay your State the consumer tax ( and in my State it is 1% lower than the local tax for buying anything).

 

?? and if something is wrong with the guitar they take them back and ship another, but at least at Sweetwater you know what you are getting, the serial number, and everything just by looking on-line.

 

Of course you can go to a local place also and other on-line stores and see how you want to buy or not buy, and that choice is up to you.

??

The choice is yours.

I did have an audio/interface that was bad, and they shipped it right back and sent me another there ( and China does make bad stuff sometimes). On Epiphone Guitars though, I did not have a problem either having it made in China. And that guitar was a semi-hollow body es-339 type guitar.

 

http://www.sweetwate...ectric-guitars/

 

There are other online stores also, like Musicians Friend and ZZounds.

 

http://www.zzounds.com/

 

http://www.musicians...CFQJqMgodrmIATw

 

Sam Ash and others I think like American Musical, perhaps Chicago Musical.

 

Anyway, a search on the Internet will probably show way more, and of course I suppose there is always Gibson to buy from also.

 

Oh, different stores like GC and others may have different models of guitar made for them perhaps or some other type limited editions that some other stores would not have either.

 

Let you do the looking on line I guess.

 

Perhaps the only thing is that they may not be able to ship out of the lower 48 States in the USA perhaps. Have to see where they can ship and then there may be extra charges if they even can. Something to do with claiming where the wood came from and all of that or something according to the Lacey Act, or something about something.

 

Hi Spacealf,

 

good infos, but noW I'm living in Canary Islands and buying in U.S. may be a problem.

I must take a look ad European shops...

 

Thank you. Rico

[Aymara]

..., but I must evaluate the flying costs for the family plus a guitar .

 

It seems to be cheaper than you think ... Google says depending on the day you pay around 100-140€ for a German Wings one way ticket from Cologne to the Caranies. I would have guessed, it's more expensive. Good luck!

 

PS: TUI is much cheaper ... around 60€.

[ricoblues]

It seems to be cheaper than you think ... Google says depending on the day you pay around 100-140€ for a German Wings one way ticket from Cologne to the Caranies. I would have guessed, it's more expensive. Good luck!

 

PS: TUI is much cheaper ... around 60€.

 

Thanks for the info !

[Aymara]

Thanks for the info !

 

You're welcome. As you can see it's worth searching for the best offer. The problem is, that when searching online, you only find holiday offerings TO the canaries especially Teneriffa. So I think it makes sense to contact travel agencies. A further reason is, that it's very likely that you will have to stay at least one night in Cologne, because the flight is around 4 hours long. So you'll need a hotel room too.

 

If you really plan to come to Cologne, let me know if you need any help ... and if it's only translation from German to English.

[Aymara]

BTW ... the nearest hotel to Music Store is the Hotel Arena in Vorster Street ... around 2 km from the store.

 

When I last visited Music Store I noticed a bus station nearby, so traveling to the Dome in the center of Cologne should be possible by bus, which will be much cheaper than a Taxi.

 

The price for a single person room is around 45€, for two persons around 20€ more.

 

PS: Hotel Arcaden is not far from the above mentioned Hotel and seems to be cheaper. It's in Kalkerhauptstrasse (Kalker Main Street). Their prices start at 35€ for a single person, 50€ for two persons and 65€ for three. Both hotels seem to have a partnership.

 

PPS: Near Hotel Arcaden is also an Underground Station for the trip to the Dome.

[Jimi Mac]

I really like this chart from BigKahune!

[ricoblues]

I really like this chart from BigKahune!

 

Hi Jim Mac,

 

I great appreciate this chart.

I've seen other chart but this seem very interesting.

 

I think my Blues King has a the 60s-style 'oval' shape. I feel it very comfortable for my small-fat hands !

I've played on a Slim Taper but is too 'slim' for me.

 

Thanks, Rico

[Aymara]

Have a look at the Les Paul Classic 2014 ... 60ies rounded neck, not slim, and 57 pickups ... for 1800€.

 

HERE is the black one to see the complete specs.

 

[ricoblues]

Have a look at the Les Paul Classic 2014 ... 60ies rounded neck, not slim, and 57 pickups ... for 1800€.

 

HERE is the black one to see the complete specs.

 

Hi Aymara,

 

very interesting model, with a good neck profile and pu.

I 've a little doubt about the electronics ... I love the 2vol 2tone setup, but why not change ?

A honey burst or a lemon burst will be amazing ...

 

Thank you a lot for your advice.

Rico

[Aymara]

Yeah Rico,

 

the electronics and the missing fourth knob cause some scepticism, but first you have to try it yourself and second, if you don't like it later, you could change to standard electronics with four knobs.

 

The problem I see is, that this currently seems to be the only model with a 60ies neck, that isn't slim. Another option would be to try the thinner 50ies necks or the asymetrical neck, that many people love, who tried it.

[Aymara]

Hey Rico,

 

I saw that our user SHREK converted his Classic to the standard four knob configuration combined with 50ies wiring. So if you should consider something similar, he can help for sure.

[Aymara]

HERE is Donny's report about his Classic and his modifications.

[ricoblues]

Yeah Rico,

 

the electronics and the missing fourth knob cause some scepticism, but first you have to try it yourself and second, if you don't like it later, you could change to standard electronics with four knobs.

 

The problem I see is, that this currently seems to be the only model with a 60ies neck, that isn't slim. Another option would be to try the thinner 50ies necks or the asymetrical neck, that many people love, who tried it.

 

Hi Aymara,

 

true words !

I own a Standard 2008 with asymmetrical neck and I love it as my Gibson Acoustic Blues King (the neck seem a '60 oval and I love it too).

I must try some Les Paul and and then make a decision.

 

Last minute G.A.S. (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) attack ... I'm falling in love for the Les Paul '56 Gold Top with P90 but I think the neck is too huge for my small hands ...

 

Thanks, Rico

[capmaster]

Yeah Rico,

 

the electronics and the missing fourth knob cause some scepticism, but first you have to try it yourself and second, if you don't like it later, you could change to standard electronics with four knobs.

 

The problem I see is, that this currently seems to be the only model with a 60ies neck, that isn't slim. Another option would be to try the thinner 50ies necks or the asymetrical neck, that many people love, who tried it.

Sorry, most of my 60's necks are called Slim Taper, one asymmetrical, and all of these 60's necks on my Gibson guitars are thinner than the only late 50's neck of mine which should be the slimmest design from this decade.

 

There are the Frank Zappa "Roxy" SG neck, the Explorer neck, and the 60's D profile of the Epiphone Les Paul 1960 Tribute of mine. These profiles are rather different and slimmer than the '60s Slim Taper, but the latter is the thinnest neck I have on some Gibson Les Paul and L6S guitars. OK, I don't own a Jimmy Page Les Paul model, and even think I don't miss it...

[Aymara]

Mmh, the Epiphone Les Paul Tribute 1960 has a 60ies D-profile? Well, I see no neck difference between my Tribute 1960 and my Gibson Signature T.

 

Well, then I higly recommend Rico to try the SigT .... I absolutely love it. 57 Classic pickups, a great neck and playability, beautiful top, low price. I would buy it again without hesitation, if I wouldn't already have it.

 

Hey Rico, watch this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFzqIhYFaks